Derek Johnson's dashboard

A comment on the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

Thanks for the message and we are truly sad to see you go.

- Derek Johnson (CEO Tatango) – Derek Johnson, on May 11, 2009 21:17

Derek Johnson replied on May 11, 2009 16:49 to the question "Is a longer text possible?" in Tatango:

1) We actually wrote a blog post about this topic here: http://tatango.com/blog/2009/05/why-t...

2) Yes, this is exactly what http://www.tatango.com does

A comment on the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

Matt, you are correct, in some instances the new service is less valuable, unless you upgrade your account. We are currently exploring all the options available to us right now, but if you have any ideas on how to cover the costs of messaging without anyone actually paying for it, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Derek Johnson (CEO Tatango)
206.334.4012 - Personal Mobile Phone – Derek Johnson, on May 09, 2009 20:52

A comment on the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

Joe,

Thank you for the feedback. If you are looking for an alternative option, I would recommend checking out SMTP messaging, which is completely free. Unfortunately SMTP messages are unreliable, slow, don't comply to MMA or FCC regulations, they require you to know each mobile phone number carrier.

We only use SMPP messaging on the Tatango site for the reasons above, and because of this, we are charged by the cell phone carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon etc.) for each and every text message.

Here is a blog post we wrote about the difference between the different types of messaging: http://twurl.nl/vi4wt6

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to contact me directly at 206.334.4012

- Derek Johnson (CEO Tatango) – Derek Johnson, on May 09, 2009 20:49

A comment on the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

Yea, it's great to see how much Tatango has really become a daily part of so many groups communication efforts. Trust me though, the people that work at Tatango are just as emotionally charged as our customers, and if we could offer the service at no charge, and still keep the doors open, we would. We are currently exploring all the options available to us right now, but if anyone has any advice or ideas, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Derek Johnson (CEO Tatango)
206.334.4012 – Derek Johnson, on May 09, 2009 20:44

A comment on the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

Matt,

Here is my answer to AZJerry's question...

"Sorry azjerry for leaving you hanging, just noticed I hadn't responded to your latest comment. You are completely correct, the new way doesn't save Tatango any money at all. What it does do is increase our page-views as members of groups are now viewing their messages on the Tatango website, which in turn generates revenue from web advertisements. With the placement of web advertisements in addition to the text ads being placed in each mobile message, we are able to cover the high cost incurred to send the text messages."

I disagree with you regarding your comment about our new service being no more valuable than an email. With email, there is still no alert to your mobile phone that you have an urgent group message waiting for you, which means that email will sit in that group members inbox until next time they check it. With Tatango it alerts all of your group members that there is something important waiting for them.

- Derek – Derek Johnson, on May 08, 2009 18:51

A comment on the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

Sorry azjerry for leaving you hanging, just noticed I hadn't responded to your latest comment. You are completely correct, the new way doesn't save Tatango any money at all. What it does do is increase our page-views as members of groups are now viewing their messages on the Tatango website, which in turn generates revenue from web advertisements. With the placement of web advertisements in addition to the text ads being placed in each mobile message, we are able to cover the high cost incurred to send the text messages. – Derek Johnson, on May 08, 2009 18:47

Derek Johnson replied on May 04, 2009 17:01 to the problem "Cancellation" in Tatango:

To cancel your account, simply email support@tatango.com with the phone number your registered your account with.

Derek Johnson replied on May 04, 2009 00:13 to the problem "Message as HTML Link = Bad Move" in Tatango:

Thanks mga911 for your feedback. Have you checked out our paid model http://tatango.com/subscription which still has all the same features as before. Let me know if you have any other questions.

- Derek

A comment on the problem "Message as HTML Link = Bad Move" in Tatango:

Thanks Spencer for your input. Have you had a chance to check out our paid model for your clients? http://tatango.com/subscription – Derek Johnson, on May 04, 2009 00:11

A comment on the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

Joe,

Messaging costs range from $0.005 to $0.025 depending on carrier, plus the $1,000/month for leasing of our phone number, and $2,500/month to connect to the mobile phone carriers. This doesn't include the servers that send the messages and engineers that make sure your messages go out smoothly. As you can tell, it's a costly operation, which no longer is being adequately subsidized by advertising within the text messages.

- Derek – Derek Johnson, on May 01, 2009 16:06

A comment on the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

Joe,

I'm sorry you feel this way. The subscription prices are based off the costs that each carrier charges Tatango to deliver our messages, so unfortunately there isn't much we can do. Thanks again for supporting Tatango.

- Derek – Derek Johnson, on May 01, 2009 05:37

A comment on the idea "Concerned about Free Service, leaving if no changes" in Tatango:

Joe,

I completely understand your concern. In regards to the subscription rates, we are offering an extremely low price compared to other companies and would go even lower if we weren't restricted by the high costs charged to us by the mobile phone carriers to send those messages.

Any other questions or feedback, please don't hesitate to contact us.

- Derek – Derek Johnson, on May 01, 2009 05:33

A comment on the idea "Concerned about Free Service, leaving if no changes" in Tatango:

Joe,

I completely understand your concern. In regards to the subscription rates, we are offering an extremely low price compared to other companies and would go even lower if we weren't restricted by the high costs charged to us by the mobile phone carriers to send those messages.

Any other questions or feedback, please don't hesitate to contact us.

- Derek – Derek Johnson, on May 01, 2009 05:33

A comment on the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

Thanks David for the feedback, we completely understand your concerns. We are a business though, and without making the changes we did, the service would not be able to continue into the future. – Derek Johnson, on April 30, 2009 22:15

Derek Johnson replied on April 30, 2009 22:10 to the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

Robert,

We would love to work with you and your client to find a price that would fit your budget. Please email me at djohnson (at) tatango.com

In regards to your last comment, I have to disagree. The initial reaction has been great from the majority of our users. Just yesterday we had a record amount of messages sent out and a good majority of those members viewed their messages on their desktop browser or mobile phone.

- Derek

Derek Johnson replied on April 30, 2009 22:00 to the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

David & Robert,

You make a great point, why not send an email to people telling them the info. Without data plans though, students are not going to be checking their emails on a regular basis, therefore that important message will be sitting in their inbox unread. With Tatango, you will be able to post a message, which triggers a text message alert, prompting your students to check their message.

Also, if you dislike our new free package, we still have our paid model which allows you to do exactly what you want http://www.tatango.com/subscription/

Any other questions or feedback, don't hesitate to let us know.

- Derek

Derek Johnson replied on April 30, 2009 21:49 to the question "text messages received as an html link?" in Tatango:

David,

Thank you for your comments and feedback, they are greatly appreciated. I see that you were comparing us to Cha-Cha, but that's a little unfair. Cha-Cha has $65 million in funding, so they are able to absorb messaging costs that are charged by the carriers much better than a small company like Tatango.

In regards to your concern about high schoolers not having data plans, we made the links short enough so they can copy them into any internet browser.

If you have any feedback, please don't hesitate to contact us.

- Derek Johnson (CEO Tatango)

Derek Johnson replied on February 18, 2009 04:55 to the question "replying stop doesn't work" in Tatango:

Hey, send us an email to support(at)tatango.com with your phone number and the group you belong to and we will make sure you get removed.

- Derek Johnson

Derek Johnson replied on December 29, 2008 16:18 to the problem "Not receiving alerts" in Tatango:

This sometimes happens when a user ports their number from one carrier to another. We rely on the carriers to feed us information on which cell phone provider each mobile number belongs to. During a transition of a phone number, sometimes their information is a few days behind, which is the reason you aren't receiving the messages. I would wait a week, if you still aren't receiving your messages after that, contact your carrier.